The Pasty Republic will hold its grand opening in northwest Denver on March 21, and no, it’s not a gathering of wan and pale complexions. The shop celebrates the pasty (pronounced pass-tea), a traditional stuffed savory pastry from Cornwall, England, that resembles a large version of an empanada. (With baseball season approaching, we didn’t want to make an “empanada on steroids” joke, because, well, we just want to put that whole sordid sports episode behind us.)

The shop is the brainchild of Jon Walker and Sam Elhindi, the husband-and-wife owners. Walker grew up in Cornwall, a region compromising the far southwestern peninsula of England. Since arriving in the United States to study at the University of Colorado, he felt frustrated by his inability to find the delectables.

“We felt this is a place that’s perfect for pasties,” Elhindi told The Denver Post. “When you fall in love with a place you want to share what you love with that place. We hope we’re here at the right place and the right time.”

The shop sits at 4166 Tennyson St., close to Tennyson Park. It will be open daily from 11 a.m.-9 p.m., and probably later on busy nights.

Walker and Elhindi visited Cornwall to learn more about making pasties, and actually flew in James Barnecutt, a Cornish pasty chef whose family has owned pasty shops for generations, to perfect making pastries at altitude. They will offer 10 varieties at the cozy, 12-seat restaurant: three beef, three chicken, two veggie and two sweet versions, with the latter including a Nutella version and a fruit-filled one.

“We want it to be a real Cornwall pasty with a Colorado spin,” Elhindi said.

I can personally vouch for how delicious a proper pasty can be. I spent 14 years in Arizona, and the charming little copper-mining town of Bisbee boasted a number of pasty shops, the legacy of Cornish miners who were imported to work there in the early years of the 20th century.